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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand?
Task-level automation exposure for First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand: 24 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
48%
weighted task index
24 of 24 tasks scored
Median Salary
$62,840 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — 53-1040 group row
Employment Level
Very High
633,400 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projection
Not projected
BLS's 2025–35 matrix has no equivalent code for this occupation — mostly military branches, which it does not project.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 48%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 5%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 44%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 5%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 4/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
24 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 31%
8 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 38%
9 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 31%
7 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#20830 · Core · 40% automatable
Maintain a safe working environment by monitoring safety procedures and equipment.
visual inspection — AI can review footage; human inspects physical workplace
Monitor work environment to ensure safety or adherence to specifications.
#8562 · Core · 30% automatable
Collaborate with workers and managers to solve work-related problems.
interpersonal — Personnel problems need live judgment and trust
Resolve personnel problems.
#8563 · Core · 33% automatable
Review work throughout the work process and at completion to ensure that it has been performed properly.
visual inspection — Loading oversight is physical, in-the-world supervision
Monitor loading processes to ensure they are performed properly.
#8566 · Core · 55% automatable
Inform designated employees or departments of items loaded or problems encountered.
interpersonal — Emergency notification needs live accountable delivery
Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
#8573 · Core · 18% automatable
Inspect equipment for wear and for conformance to specifications.
visual inspection — Physical inspection of moving equipment
Inspect material-moving equipment to detect problems.
#8570 · Core · 82% automatable
Prepare and maintain work records and reports of information such as employee time and wages, daily receipts, or inspection results.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#8564 · Core · 42% automatable
Transmit and explain work orders to laborers.
information retrieval — AI explains policies; human handles live questions
Explain regulations, policies, or procedures. Direct material handling or moving activities.
#8561 · Core · 66% automatable
Plan work schedules and assign duties to maintain adequate staff for effective performance of activities and response to fluctuating workloads.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities. Plan work operations.
#8582 · Core · 45% automatable
Participate in the hiring process by reviewing credentials, conducting interviews, or making hiring decisions or recommendations.
interpersonal — High-stakes personnel calls carry legal accountability
Recommend personnel decisions or human resources activities.
#8579 · Core · 68% automatable
Estimate material, time, and staffing requirements for a given project, based on work orders, job specifications, and experience.
data analysis — Estimates from specs; human validates assumptions and risk
Estimate technical or resource requirements for development or production projects.
#8572 · Core · 45% automatable
Counsel employees in work-related activities, personal growth, or career development.
interpersonal — AI can coach content; mentorship relationship is human
Support the professional development of others.
#8576 · Core · 30% automatable
Assess training needs of staff and arrange for or provide appropriate instruction.
interpersonal — Hands-on transport equipment training is physical and human
Train transportation or material moving personnel.
#8571 · Core · 50% automatable
Conduct staff meetings to relay general information or to address specific topics, such as safety.
interpersonal — Work-order meetings are live coordination
Meet with coworkers to communicate work orders or plans.
#8565 · Core · 80% automatable
Check specifications of materials loaded or unloaded against information contained in work orders.
information retrieval — Spec verification against references, human confirms edge cases
Verify information or specifications.
#8569 · Core · 6% automatable
Perform the same work duties as those supervised, or perform more difficult or skilled tasks or assist in their performance.
physical manipulation — Physical assisting of skilled trades on site
Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel.
#8574 · Core · 30% automatable
Resolve personnel problems, complaints, or formal grievances when possible, or refer them to higher-level supervisors for resolution.
interpersonal — Personnel problems need live judgment and trust
Resolve personnel problems.
#8575 · Core · 45% automatable
Recommend or initiate personnel actions, such as promotions, transfers, or disciplinary measures.
interpersonal — High-stakes personnel calls carry legal accountability
Recommend personnel decisions or human resources activities.
#8568 · Core · 55% automatable
Evaluate employee performance and prepare performance appraisals.
decision support — Applicant evaluation needs interviews and judgment
Evaluate performance of applicants, trainees, or employees.
#8567 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Examine freight to determine loading sequences.
decision support — Sequence planning aided; production constraints human-verified
Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
#8577 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Schedule times of shipment and modes of transportation for materials.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities.
#8583 · Supplemental · 68% automatable
Inventory supplies and requisition or purchase additional items, as necessary.
decision support — Acquisition workflow aided; human commits resources
Acquire supplies or equipment.
#8578 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Quote prices to customers.
information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
#8580 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Provide assistance in balancing books, tracking, monitoring, or projecting a unit's budget needs, and in developing unit policies and procedures.
decision support — Operational planning drafted; execution accountability human
Plan work operations.
#8581 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Inspect job sites to determine the extent of maintenance or repairs needed.
visual inspection — On-site standards inspection needs physical presence
Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with safety, quality, or service standards.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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